Make You Feel My Love
by GoldMotel
Summary: Years after defeating Gaea, Nico di Angelo is still struggling to accept himself & find where he fits in a world where everyone but him has moved onto the next step in their lives. A chance meeting with Rachel Dare creates a friendship that forces them both to confront their issues & accept who they have become. Unrequited Nico/Percy. SlowBurn!Nico/Rachel. Extended AN inside.
1. Chapter 1

**EXTENDED AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

While this story _could _for all intents and purposes be considered canon compliant at least until the Fall 2014 release date of _The Blood of Olympus_, please read the following author's note for additional information regarding how this story is affected by the release of _The House of Hades_.

For those of you who haven't read _The House of Hades_ yet, **spoilers below**.

As many of you know, in the book it is revealed that Nico has strong romantic feelings for Percy.

While this fic will accept and acknowledge this, the endgame pairing will still be Nico/Rachel (although it will be a slow burn romance).

This fic was thought about (and in the process of being written) months before _The House of Hades _was released due to me being a Nico/Rachel shipper long before _The Heroes of Olympus _series was published. But once _HoH _was released, I had to rework the fic to fit in the new information about Nico (and am still slowly in the process of doing).

Just to clarify, the following story is not an attempt to "erase someone's queerness" or use "bi identity" to make someone less "queer." Whatever Nico's sexuality turns out to be, I'm 100% behind it. But as I am not Rick Riordan, I do not feel comfortable decisively stating what Nico's sexuality is, especially since as of the posting of this first chapter, Riordan has not explicitly commented on it either, nor has he mentioned clarifying it in a later book.

If the day comes where Riordan comes out and explicitly says something regarding Nico's sexuality, whether it be in an interview or in future books tied to the _Percy Jackson _series, I will update the description of this fic accordingly.

So before you begin reading this fic, take time to determine whether or not you can accept the upcoming contents of the story. If not, please click the back button and do not click this story again. And any negative comments regarding Nico or Nico/Rachel are not appreciated, as you have been warned of the story's contents prior to reading.

AGAIN, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

* Note: This story takes place some years after _The House of Hades_ and post _The Blood of Olympus,_ with the assumption that the 7 heroes were able to beat Gaea and save the world with all of them surviving. Also, it assumes that Nico never told anyone else (besides Jason) about his feelings for Percy and is still struggling to deal with them.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All copyrights go to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

A wise woman once said that the New York Public Library is "the classic New York landmark that houses all the great love stories." While there is no way to actually prove this, the sentiment is something felt by many New Yorkers.

One of those who believed this was Annabeth Chase. While the seemingly tomboyish, no-nonsense young woman did not seem to be one who indulged in love stories, she did have a soft spot for romance.

Especially when it's tied to some of the most beautiful architecture in the whole of New York. Or her long term boyfriend Percy Jackson.

Thus, when it came time to plan her birthday party, he surprised her by booking the area above the library to host her birthday party.

To say the least, Annabeth was thrilled.

Percy spared no expense, as he wanted this to be a birthday to remember, as over the years both his and Annabeth's birthdays had either landed when they were in the midst of a quest or they were battling against nefarious creatures wanting to kill them because they were demigods (or in Percy's case, a child of the "Big Three.")

Thankfully, after the "Seven Heroes of Olympus" defeated Gaea and essentially saved the world, the amount of mythical riff-raff settled down, to the point where demigods lived pretty much ordinary lives with the occasionally scuffle every now and then.

Having a successful birthday party was just a reminder of how much the past few years had changed.

Before this, it would have been unthinkable for both Roman and Greek demigods to be celebrating together, let alone stand to be in the same room.

Piper McLean and Jason Grace, the physical embodiment of Roman and Greek co-habilitation ideal, were off in their own corner of the party. Piper was leaning casually against one of the pillars, waiting for Jason to get back from the bar with their drinks. She needed some alone time from the rest of the party. She had forgotten what it was like to be "one of the blessed," at least in terms of being surrounded by others of Godly backgrounds.

She fidgeted uncomfortably in her dress, a deep scarlet evening gown that her mother, the Goddess Aphrodite, had gotten for her during a "surprise" trip to Milan (i.e. her mother had no doubt heard about Annabeth's party, and couldn't bear to see one of her favorite children coming to arguably the most important demigod party looking anything less than perfection.)

She was struck out of her musings when Jason appeared in front of her, holding a flute of champagne out to her.

"You okay?' he said, as if unconsciously noticing her uncomfortableness with being so made up.

Piper gave him a quick kiss as she accepted her champagne. "I'm fine…just still not used to being…well you know."

Jason gave her a warm smile in return. He knew what it was like to be "blessed by the Gods." Being the son of Jupiter, one of the "Big Three" was no easy task. Add being a Roman and dating arguably one of the most powerful non "Big Three" demigods and a Greek one to boot made it much more complicated.

Even a blessing of the Gods couldn't stop people (mostly other demigods) from likening their romance to that of Romeo and Juliet (the whole star-crossed lovers thing).

A comparison which both Jason and Piper detested, since _Romeo and Juliet_ is a tragedy.

They were both lucky that the people of the hour were Annabeth and Percy, who arguably had the most "romantic" love story in demigod history. Surviving being the children of feuding Gods (Poseidon and Athena), two wars and Tartarus (among other things) with their love coming out stronger is no mean feat.

In fact, to many, Percy and Annabeth's love story was considered legendary.

"So this is a great party, right? Percy really went all out. I guess he wanted to make up for all the shitty birthdays Annabeth has had over the years." Jason said, looking around the room in awe.

Piper took a sip of her drink. "I think it's a lot more then just trying to make up for the demigod drama."

Jason paused and looked at her critically.

"What do you know?"

Piper gave him a slight smirk.

"Honey, I'm a daughter of the Goddess of Love. I can sense when things like this happen. Percy's planning on popping the big question tonight. It's actually quite romantic. And that's coming from me."

Piper expected Jason to smile along with her, glad at their friend's upcoming happiness (because let's face it, there was no way Annabeth was going to say no to Percy), Jason instead paled, and made some excuse about going to restroom real quick.

Jason left before Piper could even respond. She sighed and shook her head. Her boyfriend could be so odd at times.

"Well…that was strange," she muttered to herself as took a sip from her champagne flute, content with waiting until Jason came back.

* * *

Jason, knowing that Piper could no longer see him, quickly walked past the bathrooms and headed to where the bulk of dinner tables had been set up.

Scanning the surrounding area, he did not find what he was looking for, and sighed in frustration. Scanning the place again, he eyes honed in on the next best thing.

Hazel was sitting with her new husband Frank Zhang, her shimmering gold gown making her stand out amongst the crowd. Frank was whispering something to her in French, when Jason approached their table.

"Hey guys, have either of you seen Nico around? I kinda need to talk to him about something important."

Hazel shook her hand. "Sorry, but you just missed him. I think he said he was heading to the bar."

"Thanks guys." Jason said as he began to quickly walk toward the direction of the bar, mentally cursing the fact it was all the way on the opposite side of the room. He just hoped he could get to Nico in time to prepare him for what was likely to happen tonight.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Tyche, the Goddess of Luck was not on his side, as halfway to the bar, he heard Percy's voice ring out from the front of the room.

"Everybody, could you please quiet down for a moment? I'd like to make an announcement!" Percy said, tapping his champagne glass lightly with a fork in front of the microphone to get everyone's attention.

After the noise in the room fell to a quiet din, Percy stepped back up to the microphone, an arm around Annabeth's waist.

"I just wanted to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and celebrate Annabeth's birthday!" he said, a smile on his face.

The crowd gave a light applause as Percy continued.

"Now, I was asked by my lovely girlfriend not to include her age on the invitations…" to which the crowd laughed, even as Annabeth gave Percy a punch in the side, slight embarrassment evident on her features.

"I just knew I wanted her birthday to be special. Not just because it's the first real birthday we've had since before we became "claimed" as demigods. I actually wanted to make today special for an alternative reason."

Annabeth looked at Percy inquisitively as he removed his hand from her waist, and gasped as Percy turned to face her, bending down on one knee.

The crowd fell silent, knowing exactly what was coming.

"Wise girl, you have been a constant in my life since I was twelve years old. You frustrated me, kicked my ass, and made me question my sanity numerous times, but it was your strength and conviction, and most of all, your belief in me that made me fall in love with you. And I've stayed in love with you ever since, even when the threat of two wars and Tartarus aimed to beat us down, we came out even stronger. So I ask you…"

Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring-sized box and opened it. He pulled out a silver banded ring. The stone was a pearl, placed in a setting of bronzed coral.

"Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"

Annabeth didn't even hesitate as she hauled Percy up by the lapels of his dress shirt and kissed him deeply, not even embarrassed at getting some of her tears on his face.

As they broke apart, she whispered to him.

"As if I would ever say no, Seaweed Brain."

Percy let out a whoop of excitement and grabbed Annabeth in a hug before turning back to the microphone.

"She said yes!"

The crowd all clapped and cheered in celebration, but Jason frantically looked around until he saw Nico, frozen at the bar.

Nico had gone pale, to the point where it looked like he had no blood circulating at all (a feat for being the son of Hades, thus being naturally more pale than normal). Nico began to shake, the glass of champagne in his hand rattling in his attempt to keep his emotions in check.

Then Nico's eyes met Jason's.

Unable to keep himself calm, Nico quickly shadow travelled out of the room before anyone could notice he had left, his glass falling to the floor with a splash.

Jason began to move toward the exit in an attempt to find Nico, when Piper's soft hand grabbed him by the wrist.

"What took you so long? Long line?"

Jason, having momentarily forgotten his original excuse, took a few seconds to response.

"Uh…yeah. I was just going to look for you when you found me. What a coincidence, huh?"

Piper narrowed her eyes at Jason, as if trying to suss out a lie. Not sensing anything amiss, Piper gave him a small smile.

"Guess so. Now how about we go congratulate the happy couple. Hopefully this takes the attention away from us for the next year at least."

And what could Jason do but nod?

* * *

Nico, meanwhile, had somehow found himself outside on the terrace. Thankfully, it was deserted, no doubt because everyone was inside congratulating the happy couple.

The thought of it made him physically ill. He attempted to stop his shaking but realized that he was hyperventilating. Sitting on a nearby bench, he placed his head into his hands, attempting to control his breathing, get himself back in control.

It had been some years, but Nico was still struggling with his attraction to Percy. After Cupid forced him to admit his feelings, Nico at least got to the point where he was able to acknowledge his feelings toward the other male. However, dealing with what that meant was a whole other different story.

He had never held an attraction to anyone else before Percy. That alone scared him.

Was did it mean for the rest of his life? He was already an outcast with the demigods (unsurprisingly being the son of Hades was not exactly something to be proud of), did he really want to become an outcast with the rest of the world too?

He still hadn't told anyone about his feelings toward Percy (he still maintains that Jason didn't count). Thus, he was forced to try to work out his feelings on his own.

But the more he stayed in New York and Camp Half-Blood, the more he was surrounded by Percy and Annabeth and their "epic love." It was just another knife in his heart, and did not enable him to sort out his feelings, as he spent most of the time hating himself or unfairly hating Annabeth.

Sometimes, he even hated Percy.

Realizing that his original plan wasn't working, Nico had done the next best thing; he packed his bags and travelled the world, taking on godly assignments that no one else wanted to do.

He had hoped the time he spent away from Percy, from Annabeth, from his old life would enable him to move on from his crush, to sort himself out. But instead, all leaving did was put everything on the back burner.

Seeing Percy again had brought all those feelings back to the surface.

As he sat by himself contemplating how much his life sucked, he was startled out of his thoughts when a female voice came from behind him.

"Here, this will help."

Nico turned around came face to face with a slightly familiar red-headed woman in a maroon colored dress and celestial bronze bangles adorning her wrists. She held out one of the glasses of clear liquid in her hands to him.

Nico, giving up trying to place her, shrugged and took the glass.

"What is this, vodka?" he said after taking a sip of the drink.

The girl shrugged. "Man's gift to gods." She said as she took a sip of her own.

"…So, why are you out here and not inside congratulating the _happy couple_?" Nico asked, unable to keep a little bit of bitterness out of his voice.

The girl gave him a look, raising her eyebrow as if she picked up on his tone, but chose to ignore it.

She shrugged. "Let's just say it would be very faux paus if I congratulated Percy and Annabeth before the rest of the demigods. In fact, I was even "lucky" enough to get an invitation in the first place, something a few of the nastier demigods had no problem reminding me of."

Nico definitely noticed the bitterness in her words. Taking a sip of his drink, he asked.

"Are you one of those children of a minor god?"

The girl scoffed, flicking her long red hair over her shoulder.

"I wish. But I'm actually a little hurt you don't remember me. When you were younger, all you could talk about when you saw me was how amazing my hairbrush throwing skills were."

Nico looked at her, confused for a moment, before everything clicked.

"_Rachel?"_

Rachel Dare gave him a sad smile and held up her glass in a mock toast.

"Long time no see Nico."

Nico just looked at her flabbergasted. He couldn't believe that the vibrant, full of life, girl that he vaguely remembered from his youth was the same, worn looking, slightly bitter woman who stood before him.

"What…happened to you? Are you still the Oracle?"

Rachel leveled him a stare, that if he were not a son of Hades, would cause a man to stumble by how much pain and anger he could see in her eyes.

"No. Turns out that the Oracle gets weaker when her host gets to a certain age. So she was…transferred to a younger host. Last I heard, the new Oracle is a twelve year old girl who enjoys One Direction and Justin Bieber."

Nico paused a moment to process this. He knew (based on the second hand information Percy or Annabeth had dropped) that Rachel had not exactly come from a perfect family, no matter how much money she had. She had seen the Oracle position as her way to make a difference in the world, to be a part of something.

To have that all taken away from her, she must be crushed.

Nico attempted to broach the subject as delicately as he could.

"So…you're mortal, now?"

Rachel snorted. "You don't need to tiptoe around me Nico. Yes, I'm mortal, and the only reason I am allowed to godly events and not locked in a psych ward somewhere is that…someone owes me."

The laurel trees surrounding the terrace rustled, almost in warning, but Rachel just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Nico.

"Now, enough about me. Why are _you_ out here, hiding away from the rest of the world?"

Nico's expression immediately shut down and he looked at the ground, a scowl on his face.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Rachel sighed as she took a sip of her drink, and leaned against the bannister.

"Of course you don't. And isn't that why you ran away from New York in the first place?"

Nico winced. He had forgotten how observant she was on picking up the subtleties of human interaction. He didn't think anyone picked up on the real reason why he left. Perhaps it was some leftover power from her days of being the Oracle. In any case, it seemed time had made Rachel much more blunt.

"That's harsh."

Rachel shrugged. "It's a harsh world…so why not talk to someone? Someone who won't judge you for being…well you."

Nico sighed, taking a sip of his drink to fill in the now uncomfortable silence.

"Look, the offer's nice and all…but I'm dealing with it on my own now."

Rachel looked at his worn-looking appearance and his red-rimmed eyes.

"And I can see it's working out _great_ for you."

Nico is about to retort back when Leo Valdez and Calypso come from around the corner, wrapped in each other's arms.

Leo is in the middle of whispering something in Calypso's ear, causing her to giggle. She turns to say something to Leo, but sees Nico and Rachel staring right at them. Embarrassed at being caught, she softly coughs to get Leo's attention, who was in the middle of attempting to place kisses on her neck.

He looks up and notices Nico and Rachel. "Um…hi." Leo said awkwardly. He looks between Rachel and Nico, and takes in Nico's disshelved appearance and the fact they were standing close together.

Leo wags his eyebrow. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? Cause we can find somewhere else to go if you guys are busy."

Calypso slaps Leo on the shoulder, shushing him before he could embarrass all of them further.

"I was actually on my way out. Just saying goodbye to Nico." Rachel said, moving away from the bannister. She reaches and gives Nico a hug, causing him to freeze up. It had been so long since he had been hugged (or voluntarily been on the receiving end of physical contact) that he had no idea how to act or what to do.

After a moment, his arms wrapped around her in an slightly awkward embrace.

She leaned her head close to his ear and whispered, "I meant what I said. If you ever want to talk, you know how to contact me."

She gives him a small peck on the cheek and breaks the hug. She turns and gives a small smile to Leo and Calypso before walking away from the terrace and back into the building.

Leo looks at Nico, a questioning look on his face. "What was that all about?"

Nico, still staring at where Rachel exited, is shaken out of his thoughts by Leo's voice.

"…nothing." Nico said, before walking the same direction Rachel went, leaving Leo and Calypso alone on the terrace.

He needed more alcohol.

* * *

Nico awoke the next morning to sound of loud knocking. He groaned as he sat up, belatedly realizing he had somehow made his way back to his apartment in Brooklyn, took off his clothes (leaving his black boxer briefs on, of course), and crashing haphazardly into his bed.

He knew he shouldn't have drank that much. His hangover was killing him, and the incessant knocking on his front door wasn't making things easier. He cocooned his pillow around his head, hoping to muffle the sound of the door while hoping his inaction would cause whoever was knocking to go away.

He should have known that that would have been too easy.

"Nico? Open up!" Jason said from the other side of the door, pounding his fist on it a few more times. "I know you're in there."

Jason was getting ready to bang on the door again when a sour-looking Nico opened the door.

"Could you seriously shut the fuck up? I feel like there's a bulldozer in my head right now." Nico said.

Jason made a pained sigh and covered his eyes. "Dude, put some clothes on. My mind is getting scarred right now."

Nico gives him a look of confusion before looking down at himself. He blushed when he realized that he unknowingly opened the door wearing only his boxer briefs. He cursed and quickly ran back into his apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Jason uncovers his eyes and patiently stood in front of the door for a few moments, before a disshelved (but fully dressed) Nico reopens the door, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry about that…it was a rough night." Nico said, opening the door to let Jason in, closing the door behind him.

Jason turned around and gave Nico a glance over, taking note of his torn-up appearance and red eyes.

"I'm guessing you didn't take the news of Percy and Annabeth's upcoming nuptials _quite _so well?" Jason said.

Nico glared at him. "What the hell do you think?"

Jason sighed and took a seat next to Nico.

"You're going to have to deal with it. One way or the other. It's destroying you, man."

"You sound like Rachel." Nico muttered.

Jason gave him a look. "And you know this how?"

"…we talked." Nico finally said after a moment of silence.

Jason just looked at him, as if waiting for Nico to spill more details.

"What?" Nico said, annoyance seeping into his tone.

Jason shrugged. "Nothing…it's just, out of all people, Rachel Dare was not one I could see bonding with a demigod. Not after…"

He suddenly clammed up. Nico, an expert on reading body language, picked up on it.

"Not after what? It is something about her not being the Oracle anymore?"

Jason shook his head. "Not my story to tell. I really don't even know the full details anyway, but…you should talk to her."

Nico scoffed. "Why? So she can make fun of me? The sexually confused demigod who's harbored a gay crush on one straight boy since he was a teenager? No thanks."

"She may have more in common with your situation than you may think." Jason said, before looking at the clock and realizing what time it was. "And now I'm late. Sorry I can't stay, but Piper made plans and I just wanted to check on you. See how you were holding up. I'll stop by later, yeah?"

"Yeah. Yeah." Nico sighed as Jason nodded and got up to leave. "And Jason?"

Jason turned around, a questioning look on his face. "Yeah?"

"About the Rachel thing…I'll think about it." Nico said, looking as if it pained him to even utter those words.

Jason smiled him widely. "That's all I ask. Have a good day, Nico. Hope you sleep that hangover off." He said, before turning back around and exiting the apartment, door slamming behind him.

Nico sighed as he slumped back into his chair, his head in his hands.

It was going to be a long fucking day.


	2. Chapter 2

An Author's Note is at the bottom of the chapter. Please read if you'd like.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rick Riordan owns everything.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Nico was in his apartment drinking a cup of coffee, newspaper in the other hand. Although his eyes skimmed through the various articles, his mind was elsewhere. At the moment, he was thinking about what Jason had said about contacting Rachel.

It had been a few days since their conversation, but Nico spent most of that time struggling to make a decision.

All his brain could think about were the hints that Rachel had dropped. How was she in a similar situation as him? Did she have a crush on a girl once? Was she a lesbian on the down low? Was she in love with a demigod who didn't love her back?

And the bigger question: was his crush on Percy really that obvious, or was she just observant? Or did she even know?

Thoughts like these swirled around his head until he realized that he would never get the answer to his questions unless he talked to her himself.

And Jason was right. He did need someone to talk to.

Drinking the last of his coffee, Nico set his mug down and moved to use his "Iris" phone, which consisted of a small fountain next to a screen door in the corner of his apartment. The sunlight came in from the door and hit the mist from the fountain, creating a rainbow prism needed to contact Iris, the messenger goddess.

Due to the sensitivity of his interaction with Rachel, Nico wanted to keep it as under wraps as possible. He knew asking for her number from Jason (who could barely keep a secret from Piper as it was) or any of the other demigods would have brought more questions than he was comfortable answering.

Iris may grate on his nerves, but her client confidentiality was legendary among godly circles.

Making sure there was a strong prism in the mist, he threw in the gold drachma into the mist and said, "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering_."_

Usually a small "cha-ching" sound was heard, to alert called that their payment was accepted, but nothing happened.

"Uh, hello?" Nico said after a few moments, confused on why nothing was happening. It wasn't like Iris to have a bad connection.

He was about to speak again when he heard a noise coming from the rainbow.

He stepped back as Iris stepped out of the prism, eventually making her way into Nico's living room.

Although an immortal goddess, she currently looked like she was in her early twenties. She was wearing black jeans and a black leather jacket along with a blue shirt and blue high heels. The oddest thing was the blue phone on her head, no doubt being worn as a hat.

"Well, well. Nico di Angelo. It's been a long time since you've used my pathways. I just had to see this in person." She smirked as she saw Nico take in her appearance. "Like the new look? That Lady Gaga might not be a goddess, but she knows how to make a statement. And what kind of messenger goddess would I be if I didn't follow the times, no?"

Nico didn't have the heart to tell her that she was at least few years behind on the times, and that Lady Gaga was no longer "in". It wouldn't do well to piss of a goddess whose help he needed.

Iris took in Nico's appearance as she circled around him, a slight smirk on her face. "And here I thought you'd disappeared off the face of the Earth. But it seems the time away has been _very _good to you. Your fanclub will be pleased."

Nico was able to prevent a blush from showing on his features, but only just. Never really being comfortable in his own skin, it was odd that other people found him attractive.

Iris, as if she knew he was embarrassed, smiled wider.

Nico took a deep breath to calm himself, and asked as politely as he could. "Can you just connect me to Rachel Dare?"

Although her expression stayed the same, Iris' eyes widened minutely in surprise, but Nico (an expert at reading body language) immediately noticed.

"What? What is it?" Nico said.

"Can't do that." She said, acting disinterested as she averted her eyes and began to examine her fingernails.

"Why not? I know you can." Nico said, annoyance creeping into his tone. He was seriously regretting going through Iris message at this point.

"I just can't." she said again, still acting blase about the whole thing.

Nico was slowly reaching his boiling point. "Says who? This is really important. Can't you just-" Nico sassed.

Iris looked up, her expression stormy. "Look, kid." she snapped. "The boss says no, I listen. Simple as that."

Nico raised an eyebrow incredulously. "And who's the boss?"

"Someone way above your paygrade." Iris said as she walked back to re-enter the fountain. "Now, if you don't need anything else, I'm going to go." She pulls out a drachma and is about to throw it back to Nico when he grabs her hand. "Wait."

Iris stilled, but the prism around the fountain began to pulse. "You should really let go of me, boy. Son of Hades or no, I don't like it when people tell me what to do." she said, her voice full of steel.

Nico flinched and quickly let go, taking a step back in the process. He knew of her power, and definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of it.

The pulse of power died down after that, and Iris gave him a disgruntled look.

Nico quickly spoke before Iris could leave. "Is there anything you could do? I really need to talk to her." He tried not to look as desperate as he felt. "Please."

Iris sighed, running a hand through her hair to calm her nerves. He payed the fee, and it was her job to connect people. So she technically wouldn't be violating her job parameters.

She made her decision.

What she was going to do was considered a "grey" area, but could still get her in trouble if the higher ups found out about it.

"Look, I can't connect you to her directly, but I can _technically _tell you where she lives. And if you _accidentally_ happen to find your way there, then everyone wins. Do you understand what I'm getting at?" she said, hoping he could read between the lines.

Nico nodded quickly as he caught on to what Iris was really saying. She took a deep breath and told him Rachel's address, which Nico quickly put in his phone. "This stays between us, got it?"

Nico nodded. "Got it."

Iris smiled, satisfied as she stepped into the fountain. "And I'm still keeping the drachma," she said as she disappeared into the rainbow prism to end to Iris message.

Now alone, Nico flopped onto his couch. He felt another headache coming on.

Everything with Rachel just seemed to bring more questions that answers about the mystery that was Rachel Dare.

What had happened to her to make her _persona non grata_ in the godly community?

* * *

Meanwhile, Rachel was in her studio working on her newest painting. It was something she had picked up once she became the Oracle, and had become a big part of her routine growing up.

It was a way to remind herself that she was in the present, and not a slave to the past or future of others.

Although she no longer had her powers, painting was still a way for her to center herself.

The painting is question was barely a sketch at this point, with only a basic outline. Rachel was in the middle of adding some finer details when she heard a knock on the door.

Rachel smiled as she quickly wiped her hands off and moved to the front of her penthouse.

"Annabeth, I thought you couldn't make it today. Is this the surprise you told me about when you said you wanted to do it in person? I'm so glad-" Rachel said as she opened the front door. Her smiled faltered when she saw who was on the other side.

It was a young man, early twenties, with sandy blonde hair, a cocky smile, and outdoorsy good looks. He may have been wearing sunglasses, but Rachel knew exactly who it was.

It was someone she _never _expected (or wanted) to see again.

Rachel attempted to smile, but it came off more like a grimace. "Apollo. What brings you here?"

Apollo removed his sunglasses, and raised his eyebrow incredulously. "Excuse me?"

It took all of Rachel's willpower to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she did a clumsy curtsy. "Lord Apollo."

Both knew that she was mocking him. Apollo's eyes narrowed for a few moments, pure gold light flaring in his eyes, before he leaned against the doorway, his cocky smirk back in place.

"No need for the formalities, Rachel babe. Can I come in?" He said, as he pushed Rachel out of the way to step inside. Rachel gritted her teeth in anger as closed the door. She wanted to slam it in his stupid smug face but she knew that it would only cause more problems.

She just wanted him out as quickly as possible.

"Is there a reason you came by? Because I was planning on never seeing you again. Ever." Rachel said, crossing her arms.

Apollo ignores her glare as he inspects the penthouse. "Well, I just came by after hearing that Ms. Chase is planning on naming you Maid of Honor for her upcoming nuptials."

"How did you- Is that what she-?" Rachel stuttered, caught off guard by the news.

She waved her arms frantically, hoping to cut him off before he began reciting one of his terrible haikus. "You know what, I don't even want to know." Rachel said.

That was definitely not what she was expecting when she saw Apollo at her door. Nor was she expecting to be the news Annabeth was going to surprise her with.

But how did he know that? And why was he telling her?

She glared at him defensively. "And how is that any of your business? I don't work for you anymore. You made sure of that." Rachel said, attempting to keep her temper in check.

Apollo turned around. "Come now, Rachel. You're not still sore about the whole thing between us, are you?"

"Would you like me to lie?" Rachel said as flat as she could, unable to believe he had the gall to even ask that.

Apollo ignored her and continued talking. "Do you know how terrible it'll look? The disgraced former Oracle showing up to the biggest demigod event in recent memory, and as Maid of Honor no less? Why people would be appalled." Apollo said flamboyantly as he walked around the room, waving his hands to make his point.

He turned and looked at Rachel. "Especially since…" He stopped speaking.

Rachel mentally counted to ten before she spoke, less she lost her temper and slapped that smug smirk off his face.

"Since what?" A second later is clicked. "You don't think you're going to officiate the wedding, do you?"

Apollo smiled even wider. "Why of course. Why wouldn't they want someone known for their rhythm and rhyme with the written word?"

Rachel shook her head. "You're delusional. And even if you weren't, there's no way in hell that Annabeth and Percy would let you officiate their wedding. Annabeth owes The Queen of Olympus a favor, or have you forgotten?"

Apollo's smug expression dropped, his expression turned furious. "Now, I've looked the other way to your cheek due to extenuating circumstances, but-"

Rachel scoffed. "Extenuating, is that what you're calling it now? You're such a douche."

Apollo's eyes blazed in anger. "You forget your tongue, girl. You are in the presence of a god."

She was done dealing with Apollo and his childish behavior. "I didn't forget anything." Rachel said as she stepped toward Apollo. "What I see is a petulant immortal child who never grew up and wants everything to be about him. Newsflash, it's not."

"One more word and I'll-"

Rachel interrupted him. "Do what? You have no power over me and you know it." She walked to the door and wrenched it open. "Now get out before I throw you out."

Rachel knew she touched a nerve when she saw that he was trying to reign in his godly powers. His form flickered with light every few seconds as he took a few harsh breaths to calm himself. After a moment, he spoke, the full power of his godliness behind his words.

"You've made a grave mistake, Rachel Dare."

Apollo walked through the door and gave Rachel one final look. "We'll see each other again soon. That, I guarantee. And I hope by then, you will have turned down Ms. Chase's offer."

"Go fuck yourself." Rachel said as she slammed the door in his face, consequences be damned.

A second later, she felt the building rattle as gold light streamed through the cracks in her door. Once the light disappeared, she slowly opened the door and looked at the spot Apollo had just been.

Seeing the burn marks in the carpet, she put her hand to her head. She already felt the headache coming on.

"I need a drink." She said as she closed the door.

* * *

**An Hour Later**

Rachel took a final sip of her strong vodka tonic, and set the now empty glass on the table beside her.

Her "meeting" with Apollo had really shaken her up (even though she acted strong in front of him). Her nerves were still shot, and even a soothing taste of alcohol didn't help calm her.

She fumbled to grab the carton of cigarettes that lay next to her empty glass. Slowly pulling out a cigarette, she attempted get her lighter working. However, her shaking hands prevented her from properly getting her cigarette lit no matter how many times she tried. Giving up, she threw both cigarette and lighter across the room in frustration.

Slumping against the back of her chair, she rubbed her temples in an attempt to alleviate the last bit of tension in her head. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

"What?!" She said as she opened the door, annoyance apparent on her face. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with any more "surprise" visitors today.

The harsh words she had in store died on her tongue as she saw who was standing on the other side. Instead of a random stranger, it was a slightly nervous Nico, his hand raised mid-knock.

"Nico." Rachel breathed out, stunned to see him at her door. When she had made her offer to him at Annabeth's birthday party, she never expected for him to actually take her up on it when she received no word after a few days.

Nico fidgeted slightly as they stared at each other. Unable to deal with the uncomfortable silence, he began to ramble. "Is this a bad time? I knew this was a bad idea. I should have called first. I can-"

Rachel cut off Nico's words with a small smile and a wave of her hand. "It's fine. Please come in."

She opened the door wider and allowed Nico to walk in.

"Please sit." She said as she grabbed the empty glass from the table. "I'm going to put this in the sink. You want anything? Water, tea, alcohol?"

"I'm fine." He mumbled as he sat on the sofa, fidgeting with his hands. A few moments later, Rachel came back in, taking a seat opposite him, two mugs of tea in hand.

"I know you said you didn't want anything, but I brought tea just in case." She said as she set the mugs on the table. "Best not to start with the alcohol so early."

Nico grabbed his mug while Rachel took a seat. They both stared at each other for a few moments, unsure where to start.

"So…" Rachel said, attempting to alleviate the tension and start the conversation. "I was worried you weren't going to take me up on my offer."

Nico sighed. "Well, I needed a few days. To think things over."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to come just the same. I meant what I said, my door's always open." She placed her hands in her lap. "So where would you like to start?"

"I don't know." Nico said, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to hide his nervousness. "I've never really done this before."

Rachel gave him a sad look. "The talking thing?"

Nico shook his head. "No, the friend thing."

Nico paused.

"Never had someone to confide in before. Not even Jason."

Nico blushed and turned away, embarrassed by the deeply personal admission he made to Rachel.

Nico mentally chided himself. If he was this embarrassed over saying something so minutely personal, he didn't even know how he'd get the courage to ask her about their romantic similarities.

"Well, I think the best thing to do is to start at the beginning." Rachel said softly, sensing his embarrassment and unease.

"Are where would that be?" Nico said, shaking his head. "When I found out I was a son of Hades?"

"How about when you figured out that you were in love with Percy?"

Nico flinched at her bluntness. So that answered one question. She knew about him and his _thing _for Percy.

"How-" Nico asked, wanting to know how she figured it out, and whether everyone else knew too.

"What? You think you were the only one who's fallen for Percy's..._Percyness_?" She said, giving him a meaningful look. "Especially knowing that he would never love you back? That Annabeth Chase was it for him? Was it for him since they were twelve?"

Well, that answered two questions.

"But don't worry, no one else knows. I'm just observant, having been in your shoes before. I recognized the signs." She said.

"So...how did you deal with your feelings for him?" Nico tensed slightly, not feeling comfortable getting this personal with someone, especially since he had never done that before.

Rachel paused to gather her thoughts, a small part of her feeling slightly nostalgic thinking back to what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I told him." Rachel said. She rose her hand before Nico could interject. "Yes, I know your situation is slightly different, but-."

Nico couldn't even begin to see how their situations were the same. "But what? Falling in love with a boy doesn't make you _different_. It makes you perfectly normal."

"Times are different now, Nico." Rachel said. "Most people don't think about same-sex relationships the same way they did when you were growing up. Even being bisexual is much more accepted."

Nico stilled, his cup of tea half-way to his mouth.

"What are you talking about?" Nico said, as he placed the cup back on the table.

"What do you mean?" Rachel said giving him an old look. "I thought-They said you-"

"Rachel, what is it?" Nico said. He was beginning to worry about her, and she kept giving him a look he couldn't decipher.

"You...don't remember. Do you?" Rachel said, the expression on her face looking like she couldn't even believe what she was saying.

"Remember? Rachel, what are you talking about?" Nico said, as he leaned in close to take Rachel's shaking hand.

Rachel paused for a moment, as if unsure if she should continue to speak or not.

She took a deep breath. "I'm talking about Renzo." She said.

Nico decided to humor her. "And who's Renzo?" He said. He'd never met a Renzo in his life.

Rachel looked him straight in the eyes.

"Renzo was your first boyfriend. In 1940."

* * *

A/N: Just a few things:

Nico's Age – I'm fudging this one a bit, since Riodan never could lock down the right age for Nico. He first stated Nico's birthday as both January 28th, 1924 and May 16th, 1924 (on two separate occasions). He later contradicts this in _House of Hades, _where Nico states that he was about six years old when he first visited Diocletian's private residence in "[nineteen] thirty-eight or so" (making his birthday early 1930s). This new information contradicts that fact that (based on prior information) Nico would have had to be in the Lotus Hotel sometime in the early onset of WWII (as that when when his family left to the United States). For Italy, that would would have been around 1940. Thus (based on the _HoH _age), Nico would have been 8 when he entered the Lotus Hotel, not 10 (as he was when he exited in _The Titan's Curse_). So because of that, I decided to have him born in 1926 for the purposes of this story (making him 14 when he enters/leaves the Lotus Hotel). As this is a post-everything fic, upping his age shouldn't affect anything, since he wasn't the "child of prophecy" in the original series anyway.

Nico's Memory/Renzo:

Another thing that I'm fudging. Although it was mentioned in _The Last Olympian_ that Nico had his memories wiped before being placed in the Lotus Hotel (as Nico and Percy see a vision of Hades telling Alecto to bathe Nico and Bianca in the River Lethe before placing them in the Lotus Hotel). _HoH _contradicts that fact by having Nico remember visiting the Diocletian's private residence in 1938, which should be impossible for him to recall. Although I guess it's plausible for him to have somehow recovered his memories, for the purposes of this story, I'm keeping in line that Nico does not remember anything before entering the Lotus Hotel. Renzo is a character purely of my creation, but ties into what I'm doing with Nico's memories. Also, how Rachel knows about Renzo will be explained in a later chapter.


End file.
